


Home Again, Home Again

by Lohksparce



Series: Scars and Space Adventures [2]
Category: Destiny (Video Games), Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Alien Biology, Biting, Consensual Kink, Consensual Scarring, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Intimacy, M/M, Mild S&M, Mutual Masturbation, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Scarification, Talking About the Past, Xenophilia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:40:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26278798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lohksparce/pseuds/Lohksparce
Summary: Xigbar can tell the long, lonely nights full of computer screens and extra prison rounds are taking a toll on Variks, so he decides to help him relax.It all starts with a suggestion, and then a vacation. Encounters with strange, unfamiliar sea life and a little voice tells him to go home, but not the prison. Somewhere far, far away. Lost but still lingering, somewhere out there.
Relationships: Variks (Destiny)/Xigbar (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: Scars and Space Adventures [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1909360
Kudos: 3





	1. Relief

**Author's Note:**

> I finally figured out what I want to do with this fic. Sort of. I got more ideas now and I couldn't decide if I wanted this to be a chaptered thing or done in a series (still can't). For now I'll probably have it as a chaptered, I guess. It's hard to decide what to do unless the fic is a one-shot. LOL
> 
> Either way, I really like this pairing I made so I wanted to do more. It's based in the universe from my first fic on here, Scars, and is a continuation.

Personal comm screens buzzed lightly. With each button press, the view switched to another hazy camera, showing scenes of empty halls and rows of perfectly aligned prison pods, the entrance to the prison, the hidden exits, and down hazy corridors. His eyes felt tired and he could tell they were narrowing on their own. The constant droning of his system was about to drive him insane.

He glanced back at the nude figure laying on his nest, eyes roving over familiar scars and shapes until they stopped on a sizable bandage wrapped tightly around Xigbar's thigh. A new one. He had seen a glimpse when the man disrobed and proceeded to scatter clothes on his floor, but he hadn't had time to examine, only to ask. The Eliksni's eyes narrowed and he pulled away from his personal system, stepping past a folded pile of cloak and pants. There was just barely a bit of red darkening the center of the otherwise pristine bandages.

"When did you receive this new thing, hm?" Variks asked, and one claw sheared through the bandages near Xigbar's inner thigh, purposefully dragging across skin he knew was unharmed. Not enough to break the skin, but the sharp intake of breath he got in return sent a twinge down his spine.

"A couple days ago. Some wyvern Heartless thought it was fun to snatch me up and try go on a flight with me," Xigbar answered, leg twitching as the cool air made the deep gash sting. "I refused, of course." He smirked a little, watching Variks with those eyes he swore glowed with Ether.

"Hm. A shame you cannot bring a sample of these creatures, I am still curious of them," Variks murmured, looking over the gashes in concern. Deep, but not terribly so. No way to really stitch them up, but Xigbar had done well in his bandaging, well indeed.

"I could lure a live one, but I don't think you want all that trouble. You already have enough problems runnin' this place," Xigbar watched the Eliksni pull away and rummage in a small box of medical supplies that sat upon one of his cluttered shelves. "Speaking of this place–" His one good eye narrowed and he grit his teeth as Variks applied a handful of cloth and wrapped the new bandages tight. "You ought to go ahead and join me. I think things'll be fine for a few hours."

Variks' eyes narrowed. He tied off the bandages and returned the box to its place next to an old book with tattered pages, glancing at his personal console. Images of prison flicked by every few seconds: prisoners, their pods, empty corridors, and silent transport trains. No chaos. Not yet, anyways. Not like when he strode past the pods and criminals would throw themselves against their cages, wanting dock him time and time again and tear him to pieces.

His occupied bed was a much nicer alternative.

"Perhaps you are right." Variks mused. It would likely be so. Hopefully.

He leaned his staff against the wall near his bed. Xigbar shifted into a sitting position and gently helped Variks pull off his armor. Cloak first and banner, then his rebreather and the chain-link veil that hid the scars his rebreather couldn't mask. He was laid bare before the man save for the gifted scarf that contrasted against the light colors of his clothing, and the cool, Ether-tinged air felt pleasant against his flesh. Variks eased down onto the bed, leaning into the strong arm around his waist as he laid down. Tiredness was already picking at the edges of his being, behind his eyes and in his muscles. The Red War had brought many prisoners. Many indeed.

Variks sighed, letting his eyes slid shut. Xigbar put a hand on the Eliksni's hip and rubbed it gently with one thumb.

"I missed you. Promise I'll stay for a few days, at least," Xigbar leaned in and kissed Variks, letting his lips rest against the Eliksni's face. Variks' mandibles parted, kneading against his bottom lip and grabbing it lightly.

Variks pushed his brow against Xigbar's, hands roving all over his body to find comfortable hand-holds. A mechanical one on his hip, and a flesh and blood one on his chest. "You will stay. I do not plan to let you out of sight, not until you have healed further. Then we will see." After a moment, he added, gently, "I missed you as well."

"As you command." Xigbar grinned and chuckled. He ran a hand up Varik's side and around onto his chest, slipping a finger in between his exoskeletal plates, trailing against old scars until he reached his legs. Beneath the flesh, he felt tense muscles. If his own leg wasn't practically out of commission, he would try to walk the corridors for him instead.

"You want me to help you relax?" Xigbar asked with a sly smile, raising an eyebrow. "Most of me still works just fine."

Variks' chittered, eyes narrowing. "Trying to test limits of your leg? End up having to stay longer in my care, hm?"

"Maybe," Xigbar's smile grew two sizes. "I wouldn't mind it."

"Ir-res-pon-sible." Variks accented each syllable with a tap to the man's bare torso, trailing lower and lower until he stopped just above a soft scattering of pubic hair. "Perhaps I tie you down, hm? Keep you nice and still."

"Tempting, really tempting, but I think something easy's best today, I can tell you're pretty tired." Xigbar brought one of the Eliksni's hands to his face and kissed the palm of it, trailing kisses up each finger."I planned to stay for a good long while though, so you're stuck with me."

Variks sighed deeply, watching Xigbar through lidded eyes. Sometimes it felt so strange, being close to someone he had let close enough to see through his mask. A part of him wanted to recoil and hide away. He was fine. No need for concern. He was Judgment, he was still strong. But his body didn't always feel strong. Maybe Petra was right. He could afford a little more Ether now. The war was over.

"Good. Having you here will be... nice. Many more prisoners have come in, stragglers of Red Legion, broken and angry. My legs grow tired of walking the halls so often. My eyes do not appreciate staring at screens so much either." Variks leaned in and pressed his face into the crook of Xigbar's neck, scenting him, letting it flood into his sensory receptors. He lightly ran his pointed teeth along the flesh where an Ether vein would be if the man were an Eliksni. Instead, the vein below pumped nothing but blood. The thump of his heart was faint and pulsed beneath his mouth.

The rhythm of Xigbar's beating heart was familiar. Comforting.

"Injury or not, I'll handle some of it for you," Xigbar pressed his lips to the top of Variks' head, dragging them along the textured plates as he pressed interment kisses. He trailed his hand down, tracing the Eliksni's collar bone and down his torso, ghosting in the breaks between his plates, and further below. "No more work talk though."

Xigbar's breath was hot against his flesh. Variks' breath hitched.

Variks' spoke in something in between a growl and a purr. "Make me speak other things, then."

Xigbar smirked. A strong, experienced hand followed the familiar patterns of plating, rubbing and goading forth the Eliksni's slit with practiced precision. Ether-streaked fluid made his fingers slick with Variks' desire, and each hiss and chitter of cool breath against his neck made his arousal swell. Variks groaned, pushing away after-images of comm screens and surrendering himself to physical sensation, and Xigbar's fingers dipped into his slit, teasing the rubbery flesh and the tip of his sheathed length. The flood gates opened, and the writhing length spilled forth into the his hand, coaxed forth in almost record time.

Variks opened two eyes, gazing down. Fluid dripped lazily out of Xigbar's penis and down the shaft, waiting to be touched. He reached down with a flesh and blood lower arm and gripped, two fingers around him and one coming up to massage the head. The finger circled and Xigbar groaned, letting his eye shut, feeling a jolt of pleasure every time the Eliksni's finger slipped under his foreskin and circled the sensitive flesh beneath.

He let out a shuddery breath, shifting carefully onto his side and leaning in to kiss Varik's neck, nibbling and sucking the exposed flesh. He drug his lips against each raised, rough scar, pressing kisses to them.

The Eliksni shifted, leaning back to give him further access, and hooking one of his legs over Xigbar's hip so the tapered end of his length could wrap around Xigbar's. Oh, if only all four of his arms were flesh. He wanted to feel each half of the man with _four_ real hands that felt real sensations, not a ghost of it. Variks settled for threading the fingers on one real hand through the hair at the nape of Xigbar's neck, playing with the silky black and gray locks and twirling the man's ponytail around his fingers within.

Variks leaned in and breathed deep. His shampoo smelt like plants, something heavy and intoxicating

"What is this scent...? It fits you," Variks muttered, nibbling along Xigbar's neck lightly.

"Hm?" Xigbar groaned a little. "Oh, my hair. It's pine." Another groan. He could feel the tapered head of Varik's length squirming against his own, gripping him. "Pine and cedarwood. Somethin' like that... You can borrow it if you want. It's three in one– Shit..."

His back arched. Variks' hand was stroking them both while his length wriggled and coated them with fluid as it throbbed. Xigbar let out a breathy laugh.

"I thought I was supposed to be taking care of you, not the other way around." He grinned and nipped Variks' neck, earning a shudder and a hiss.

"I am not able to do much with such things here. Metal is not conducive to water," Variks clicked. "Besides, not much of it here regardless."

"All this tech and you don't have any waterproof sleeves to put over your arms?" Xigbar chuckled. The idea was in his head now. "I'll find a way to make it happen."

"Things are scarce in the Reef, but perhaps you can, with that space magic of yours."

"Count on it."

Variks stroked them gently, pace quickening, but Xigbar reached down and pulled his hand away. The man raised it, staring into the Eliksni's eyes as he kissed the palm of his hand and then placed it around his neck.

"My job tonight," Xigbar leaned in and whispered against him, still staring with that hypnotic gaze that made his knees weak and mandibles go slack.

He replaced Variks' hand with his own, stroking himself, trailing up to where their lengths met and back down the Eliksni's, teasing, every touch agonizing slow as they reached the bulb at the base and his fingertips applied just a hint of pressure. Enough to make Variks' modulated voice crackle and his mandibles spread open. Xigbar stroked them at a consistent pace. His free hand snuck down to the small of Variks' back, trailing his fingers down his plates.

Variks could feel the pressure building inside him, settling in base of his bulb. It swelled with each stroke, each gentle touch along his body until he could bear it no more, and he came with a partially-distorted trill, blunt claws digging into Xigbar's skin. Ether-streaked come coated his hand, and the Eliksni's throbbing length writhing against his own sent him over the edge. Come coated Variks' length, a stark contrast against the pale blue organ.

Xigbar breathed hard, sucking in each air as he stroked them slowly through their orgasms until Variks' length started to retract back inside him. He could feel the rise and fall of Variks' chest against his torso, and one hand trailed down him, squeezing every so often: his side, his thigh, around the bend of one knee and back up.

"Feelin' any better?" Xigbar took a deep breath and relaxed further into the blankets, feeling a content sort of tiredness.

Variks' let out a slow, chilly breath. "Eia. Quite a bit so." He shifted, leaning on Xigbar as he slowly rose up to grab a cloth off the shelf on the wall above his nest, careful not to get any slick on the books nearby. He cleaned them off gently and then tossed the cloth aside to be washed later.

"Good." Xigbar nodded, and Variks leaned in to press his mandibles against his bond-mate's mouth in an approximation of a human kiss.

Variks shifted, carefully settling himself into his nest and against Xigbar with a soft, chittery sigh, breathing in that pleasant scent again that now held notes of their arousal. A metallic, rattling purr rose up from within his chest, echoing faintly. Without the computer screen in front of his face, keeping his attention, the exhaustion from staring at it for the last hours was finally rearing its ugly head. Thankfully, his next nights wouldn't be spent alone. With the Red War over, Guardians rarely visited; they were too busy recovering from the war, understandably. Petra was still aiding in rounding up the Legion's stragglers that escaped to the shore, and she didn't visit much other than to drop off prisoners and return to the field. As much as he resented them at times, he didn't realize how much he missed the interactions until they were gone: it was double for Petra's visits, and triple for his bond-mate.

The feeling of Xigbar's warmth against his own, cooler form was very much welcome.

Xigbar yawned and glanced down at Variks, grunting and attempting to pull up a blanket one-handed without jostling either of them and not end up giving himself a jolt of pain. Up to their waists was good enough. That idea was still worming its way around in his brain, though. Giving Variks a break somehow, even if it was just for a few hours. He needed it. His poor boyfriend was burning all his eyes out looking at computer screens at night and making his joints sore by day.

He broke the comfortable silence. "You wanna go on a vacation together?"

Variks blinked and rose up, eyes narrowing. He chittered. "And where would we go? Few places would accept my presence, and The Reef is not va-ca-shon spot."

"Visit my universe then. No one knows you and there's plenty of places we could go. And you know I told you time moves faster there too," Xigbar grinned a little. "We could spend a few weeks there and only be gone half a day here, maybe."

Variks' eyes narrowed into gleaming slits. He wasn't wrong. No one in Xigbar's realm would know of the Eliksni, of the 'traitor' who was worse than docked. It had always intrigued him as well. Tales of worlds that weren't planets but acted like them, and each was vastly different.

"And who would you suggest care for the prison while I am gone?"

"You've got that giant robot Servitor thing that's like a mini-you, right? I'm sure it can watch the place for a few hours."

He clicked his mandibles. "And if something goes wrong, hm?"

"Well, I sure as hell hope that nothing goes wrong." Xigbar chuckled and stroked the top of the Eliksni's bare head. His grin softened into a smile. "You run this place like a champ, I think it'll be okay for a few hours."

It wasn't often he was paid compliments but his bond-mate always gave him plenty. The Eliksni was silent for several long moments, and Xigbar just watched him, a hint of expectancy in his eye. In some strange way, that singular golden eye reminded him of a Servitor or a Ghost sometimes. He had never really entertained the idea of leaving the Prison unless he absolutely had to, but now that Xigbar mentioned it, the idea seemed to lodge itself distinctly in the forefront of his mind.

If he understand was a va-ca-shon was correctly, it would be... nice, to have such a thing for himself, even for a short time.

"Perhaps. I will think about it," Variks' chittered finally.

And he was already thinking, imagining the possibilities, good and bad.


	2. Tapestry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Variks is still thinking. They pass the time with furthering the tapestry on their bodies. The occasional follow-up sex and aftercare was nice too. And so was the cuddling after it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like writing lewd stuff, but Gaia and Meeksis' story I'm keep 90% G/10% T, and I haven't actually gotten to the romance in 'Til Dust Do Us Part, so I'm putting it all in this fic for now. Plus I like writing sex between these two.

Variks drug his tongue against the flesh of Xigbar's shoulders, pausing only to press his face into the back of his neck and breath in his scent. Starting at the left shoulder, a hundred tiny, circular scars had begun to carve a pattern across to the other side like dark freckles. Variks lightly sunk his teeth into his bond-mate's skin, not enough to tear flesh, just to continue the pattern. Blood welled up and trickled down his back in thick droplets until the Eliksni's tongue lapped them up. Xigbar's blood was coppery on his tongue, but it wasn't like what he usually smelled.

No, it was special.

He savored everything: its taste, its scent, the pulse of Xigbar's heartbeat, the way he tensed up, eager for the continuation of their tapestry, the arousal and pheromones his scent was heavy with. Variks sunk in again and again with his front-most teeth. Xigbar groaned and his back arched just slightly. Now the pattern had spread to the center of his shoulder blades and up the back of his neck. It wouldn't be long until all of his shoulders would be covered in his marks. Maybe in time, they would make their way down the entire length of his back side. Up his neck, down the backs of his arms. Perhaps across the muscles of his back, his ass, and down the back of each thigh.

Maybe even carve the symbol of Judgment into him, either in flesh or ink.

"How would you like a mark of Judgment on you, a permanent banner?" Variks purred, trailing his blunted claws against the man's skin. "Maybe here?" He drug his nail down to the center of Xigbar's back, and his mate shuddered.

"Or maybe here?" His hand reached around to Xigbar's stomach, and circled his navel. Variks' chittered, two of his eyes narrowing. "Could do thigh. Or neck. Everyone will see it then."

Xigbar looked back at the Eliksni as much as he could and grinned. "That's kinda hot. I like it. If I get a Judgment tattoo, you gotta get one of my guns on you somewhere too, so we're matching."

"I do not have much exposed flesh, so places are limited. You are covering my neck as well."

"I'll find a spot." Xigbar pulled one of Variks' secondary arms around to his face and kissed his hand. "Switch with me."

Variks obliged and pulled away so he could lay back down against the warm, wrinkled sheets. Xigbar rose up and settled in between his legs, and the Eliksni's length stood at attention. The man shifted closer, stroking himself before pressing their penises together, using both hands hold them close. One set of the Eliksni's arms gave him support while his lower arms reached up to hold Xigbar's hips, and he let out a shuddery breath. It didn't take long for his penis to get coated with Variks' slick between the stroking and all the squirming it did like always.

Sometimes he wondered if it actually had a mind. Or if the Eliksni could grab things with it.

They hadn't ever tested that.

Xigbar pulled away slightly, hands wet, and Variks' hissed. He lined himself up with the chilly, exposed slit situated just down from the Eliksni's length, and slowly pushed in. Cool, rubbery flesh enveloped him and he couldn't help shivering, and not just from the temperature difference. For a moment, he paused, and Variks' urged him onward with a click of his mandibles. Variks' wasn't small by any means and he wasn't wide at all, but he still had a good foot and a half at least, and it was easy to envelope Variks' as he thrusted. He started with kisses: light, all over his neck and collar bone, then up to his mouth. One kiss for his mandibles, swiping his tongue into Variks' mouth and dodging those razor sharp teeth for the brief Ether-tinged taste of his tongue.

Variks wrapped his lower, flesh and blood arms around his neck, drawing him closer, deeper inside him, and he groaned. With his eyes shut, focused on the moment, the man's scent was powerful and overwhelming, and he could feel the rumble of Xigbar's groans. Wet warmth and pain in his collarbone had him barely holding back a trill of pleasure

Xigbar bit down on the soft, exposed flesh on Variks' neck. The Eliksni let out a noise torn between forming into a growl or a purr. Fingers were digging into his sides, not making cuts, but dangerously close to doing so. The pressure was good.He dug deep until his sharp teeth broke flesh and the taste of something coppery and cool was in his mouth. Variks' tensed up beneath him, groaning. Xigbar held him tighter. Once he was sure a scar would be left, the man pulled back, teeth stained with purple-red.That bite mark made for a total of seven now, ranging from Variks' neck and collarbone and up to the plate-less flesh near his mandibles.

He shifted a little, and the walls of Variks' ovipore tightened around him. Variks wrapped his legs tighter around Xigbar's waist. The man pulled back and thrust into him slowly, agonizingly slow, until the Eliksni dug his clawed heel into his ass. He grinned slyly and Variks' just narrowed his eyes with an amused hum. His pace quickened, driving them closer and closer to release.

Somewhere between Variks' and his chest was the Eliksni's length, squirming between them. Variks trilled, and the heat thrusting into him was wonderful, unbearable. Every inch of him felt so much warmer than usual. He bit out a curse in Eliksni. Xigbar lifted him up with a grunt and a gasp, holding him nice and secure against his body until they rode over the cliff together and fell into the depths of post-orgasm bliss.

Xigbar laid Variks' back onto his nest and the Eliksni purred loudly, sounding like someone rattling a bunch of nuts and bolts in a tin can. It was always cute. Variks put his palms against the man's thighs and held him back with his mechanical primaries. He drug himself off Xigbar just as slowly as he had thrust into him, savoring the shudder he got in return.

"Pay-back." Variks grinned.

"Ass," Xigbar laughed and leaned in to kiss Variks one more time before the Eliksni scooted out from under him and got to his feet.

He rolled his shoulders a little, feeling pin-pricks of pain blossom across his back, and cleaned himself off before laying on his stomach.

"I must've been extra good tonight," Xigbar said, watching the wobble in Variks' legs as he grabbed a plain blue chest off one of the many cluttered shelves on the other side of the room. Good thing none of them were near the bed.

"You were," Variks answered, bring the box back to the bed. He pulled a cloth out of it and soaked it with some antiseptic fluid he kept in the homemade first-aid kit. "And tomorrow, if there is time, I will make sure you _cannot_ walk."

"You're welcome to–Jeez! That stung worse than last time," Xigbar hissed, tensing up. "I'd love for you to try though. " He looked back with a smirk.

Variks pulled the blood-stained cloth away. "If you keep looking at me like that, I may want a second round already."

"We ought to save round two for another day, you know you've gotta wake up earlier tomorrow," Xigbar said.

"True. Perhaps you are a bad influence on me, Xigbar. Making me forget my duties," Variks giggled and retrieved some gauze squares from the box and spread them across the new wounds on Xigbar's back before wrapping it up with a roll of cloth.

"Bad enough to make you go on a vacation still?" He grinned and rolled over onto his back once Variks was finished bandaging him up.

"Perhaps. My time will be more free after this cycle's Prison of Elders challenge." Variks sat down next to Xigbar and tilted his head back.

"Keep thinking about it, or don't," Xigbar shrugged and a corner of his mouth quirked upwards in a smirk. He got another cloth, soaked it, and dabbed at the bites on the Eliksni's collarbone. He leaned in and pressed his lips to the his mandibles. "Either way I'll keep trying to sway you to my side."

"I welcome it," Variks purred, tensing up as the soft cloth touched the actual wounds. He shut his eyes, ignoring the twinges of pain. Xigbar grabbed the last of the gauze squares, making a mental note to stock back up before whenever round two was.

"At this rate, you'll need a new scarf to cover them all." Xigbar let out a chuckle and finished wrapping Variks' collarbone and neck up. "All done. Want me to get you one? It's gettin' pretty cold here, and it's already cold here."

"I will be fine. The looks I get when Guardians catch a glimpse is rather amusing."

Xigbar's brow furrowed and he let out an exaggerated grumble. "Hey, that's my neck and bite marks they're lookin' at."

"Oh, I know," Variks' eyes narrowed. He gave the man a rare smile and laughed. "But _they_ do not. And they wonder, but I will not tell them. It is rather amusing."

"Some time I gotta hang around outside and see what all's going on in the day-to-day. I can just borrow some armor and I won't be too strange a sight, will I?"

"Not if you dress like a Guardian. Otherwise, the Reef knows who has been here and who has not been."

Xigbar frowned. "I can do that. Probably need a set of armor in case I go around anyways. This cloak's not exactly gonna help me against most of the stuff here."

"That would be a good idea."

Variks got to his feet, and Xigbar followed. A few minutes later, and their bed was straightened out, all the fluids on them were cleaned off, and fresh pajamas were worn. Xigbar took a quick trip back to his universe to grab a few things, and he came back through the portal with a mug in one hand and a small pitcher in the other, full of steaming hot chocolate, and two colorful bags under one arm. One cup was handed off to Variks and the other sat down on a nearby coffee table before he dropped it or the chips.

Xigbar sat down on Variks' worn, salvaged couch with a yawn, and the Eliksni settled down beside him, still adjusting the pair of patterned pajama pants and modified shirt he had lent him. They weren't uncomfortable, but he hadn't worn garments like them in a very long time. In recent times, all Eliksni garb had become form-fitting, built for combat, and even more recently so, rags and salvaged armor. Xigbar continuing to share with him was pleasant and welcome.

"So, what tale of Riis am I gonna get tonight?" Xigbar asked, wrapping an arm around the Eliksni and getting three around him in return. He reached and got his own hot chocolate and took a sip of it after blowing it off.

Variks was quiet for a minute save for his purr, sipping on the sweet drink. "I will tell you of daily life again." He watched Xigbar open a bag with his teeth. "But this time, I tell you of things I witnessed."

The Eliksni sat his drink down and partook of the crunchy orange sticks that left flavored dust all over his fingers.

"As Scribe for House Judgment, I presided over many things and recorded them: official couplings, events, and the birth of new hatchlings. Each new one was recorded in the annals of their House, so the other scribes and myself saw many, many hatchlings. And how much mischief they brought with them." Variks' eyes narrowed with amusement.

"I have seen hatchlings climb an Archon within seconds. One of my fellows scribes was tackled by a horde of them, and had his furred robe stolen so they could wrap up in it. It was... quite the sight, watching him try to wrestle it away from them. Their screeches of protest filled the room and he finally gave it up to them," Variks laughed: a rarity that had become less so, at least in private.

"And I thought raising human babies was hard," Xigbar chuckled. "Raising hatchlings sounds like ten times the work."

"It is, but... it is very rewarding, as well," Variks' voice softened briefly. "But I do not wish for that many of my own. As I have heard some Guardians say, it was often... absolute fuck-ing chaos."

A mouthful of hot chocolate caught in Xigbar's throat and he nearly spat it out."Wait, wait, Var, say fuck again."

Variks was quiet for a moment. "Fuck."

Xigbar had the foresight to sit his drink down before he laughed. "I think that's the first time I ever heard you curse, in English at least. I know what you said to that Hunter who came bargin' in the other day. Something about smelling like a Cabal's backside?"

"Crotch, not backside. Need more Eliksni lessons," Variks chittered.

"If we go on that vacation, you'll get a lot more time to teach me," Xigbar whispered against the side of his face. "Either way, you saying fuck sounds pretty cute, just like your little purr. And your smile. And those little clicks you do–" Variks clicked his mandibles. "Yep, just like that."

"So you say."

"Speaking of hatchlings," Xigbar paused, reaching into the bag and munching on the cheddar-flavored snacks. "Did recording all the hatchlings births ever make you ever think about having kids?"

Variks nodded, staring at one of the tiny, squishy marsh-mellows floating in the half full pitcher, watching slowly bob in the dark liquid."I had indeed, in my younger years. And then I had some, with my old mate. It was a long time ago. I doubt any of them still live."

Xigbar fell quiet, and all at once he felt stupid and guilty. And like an asshole. He sighed and looked at Variks, then away, and cursed under his breath. "I'm sorry, that was a really stupid question. I wasn't thinking when I asked that."

"It was not stupid. We were talking of children, it was logical curiosity. You could not have known." Variks waved a lower hand.

"I know about the Whirlwind though, I should've figured something bad happening was a possibility."

"It is fine, Xigbar. Your apology is accepted, I know you did not intend to cause any offense, and none is taken," Variks said, nuzzling into Xigbar's throat. "It has been so long, the pain of loss is really not a pain anymore. Sometimes I think of them, though, more so in recent times. My Ether intake is much higher now, and egg production may begin if this continues."

Xigbar blinked and stared down at Variks. "Are you suggesting what I think you are?"

Variks' eyes brightened. "Maybe in the future we have a few hatchlings of our running around and tackling you for your cloak, hm?"


End file.
